Chrome Blog
The latest news from the Google Chrome team
‘Tis the season for Chromebooks
Monday, November 21, 2011
The Chrome team elves have been busy packing a few goodies into
Chromebooks
in time for the upcoming holiday season.
A simple, streamlined user interface
From the moment you hit the power button and watch your Chromebook boot up in eight seconds flat, you’ll notice that the operating system got a bit of a facelift. For example, the Chromebook now sports a fresh, clean login experience.
We’ve also
revamped the New Tab page
to make it easier to manage your apps, bookmarks and most visited sites. By popular demand, we’ve added a few handy new shortcuts to the New Tab page: a shortcut to the File Manager on your Chromebook, as well as to music apps and games in the Chrome Web Store.
You may have also noticed, we recently gave the
Chrome Web Store
a
new look
, so that you can easily scan the wall of images to discover fun and useful apps and extensions.
Hassle-free for the holidays
We’ve heard from many of you that one of the things you enjoy most about the Chromebook is its hassle-free simplicity. If you’re someone who’s often called upon to provide tech support when you’re home for the holidays like I am, you’ll be happy to know that the Chromebook gets your loved ones up and going on the web quickly, without the usual pains of computing like seemingly endless boot times and setup manuals. With that in mind, we wanted to share a few updates to the lineup of Chromebooks that make them more giftable to loved ones.
For folks in the United States, Samsung is introducing a sleek, black version of its Wi-Fi only Samsung Chromebook Series 5.
We’ve also been working closely with our partners to continually improve the overall Chromebook experience while making them even more affordable. So, we’re excited to share that beginning this week Acer and Samsung Chromebooks will be available starting at $299. The updated prices will be available through our
online retail partners
.
Lastly, if you’re in the U.S. and you’d like to take a Chromebook for a test drive, visit the
Samsung Experience
in New York City or check one out when
flying with Virgin America
. We’re excited to hear your
feedback
, as we continue to build a faster, simpler and more secure experience on a computer that always gets better. In the meantime, we’ll leave you with one in a series of
new film shorts
that highlight some of the reasons why we think Chromebooks make a great holiday gift.
Posted by Venkat Rapaka, Senior Product Manager
The computer that keeps getting better...
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
One of the things that excites us about
Chromebooks
is that unlike other computers, the user experience automatically gets better over time. For instance, with this week's latest stable release of Chrome OS, users may notice their Chromebooks now resume even more quickly – 32% faster in most cases. For those of you who like watching movies and TV shows on your Chromebook, you now also have the option to do so using
Netflix
. If you'd rather enjoy a good read, you’ll be able to fire up the Amazon’s new
Kindle Cloud Reader
app, read your favorite books and even take them offline when you’re not connected. If you need to print, you can give trees a break and use the
Print to Docs
feature with
Google Cloud Print
instead.
For businesses and schools, we also have a host of new features launching this week. If you use Citrix in your organization, you can now install the
Citrix Receiver Tech Preview
app from the Chrome Web Store to access desktop software such as Adobe® Photoshop® directly from your Chromebook. In addition, this latest release brings
VPN
and secure Wi-Fi support (802.1X).
Along with these new features, our recent update delivers many bug fixes and improvements under the hood. Chromebook users should automatically get this release this week. As a consumer, business or school, all you need to do is relax and let your Chromebook do the work. We hope you enjoy the experience of
a computer that keeps getting better
.
Update 8/10
: Added link to more information on Print to Docs feature
Update 8/11
: Updated link to new
Google Cloud Print
site
Posted by Alberto Martin, Technical Program Manager
Summer travel with a Chromebook
Thursday, June 30, 2011
A
Chromebook
makes a great travel companion, with its 8-hour battery life, light weight, built-in Wi-Fi and available 3G. So we’ve teamed up with
Virgin America
and
Ace Hotel
to give you the chance to experience a Chromebook on your summer travels.
When you fly
Virgin America
from San Francisco, Chicago O’Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth or Boston, look for the
Chrome Zone
near your departure gate. Check out a Chromebook for free and browse away with complimentary Wi-Fi in the terminal and on your flight.
If your travel plans include a stay in the Big Apple, check into
Ace Hotel New York
and you’ll find a Chromebook waiting in your room. Use it anywhere, in or out of the hotel, with free Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.
To make your trip even more enjoyable, we’ve also developed two new web apps: The
Ace New York Field Guide
tips you off on the hottest spots in town, from cool clubs to unique boutiques, and the
Beat the Boot
game which challenges you to get the highest score possible in the 8 seconds it takes to boot a Chromebook. Plus you can choose from thousands of other web apps in the
Chrome Web Store
.
Chromebooks arrive this Friday, July 1st at Virgin America and Ace Hotel New York, and are available for the rest of the summer. Get all the details
here
, and happy travels!
Posted by Heaven Kim, Product Marketing Manager
Chromebooks now available for sale
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Last month we
unveiled
the first Chromebooks from our partners, Samsung and Acer. Chromebooks were built and optimized for the web to give you a faster, simpler and more secure experience without the headaches of traditional computers. In the U.S., you can now order a Chromebook from
Amazon
and
BestBuy.com
. In other launch countries, visit
google.com/chromebook
to find a local retailer.
If you’re interested in purchasing Chromebooks for a school or business, please
contact our sales team
.
Posted by Felix Lin, Director of Product Management
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